Performing medical billing and coding functions for anesthetic services is not the same as billing common healthcare claims. It involves a whole set of different procedures and there is a lot of opportunity for making minute errors. Anesthesia billing is done based on some crucial factors, including base units, time units and modifiers. With new medical reforms revolutionizing the US healthcare industry, the billing operations have become even more complicated and anesthesia billing is no exception in that list. Therefore, getting help from an anesthesia billing company would be a good choice for medical practices and independent Provides. This article elaborates on the common anesthesia billing errors made by healthcare organizations and practitioners and the right solution to overcome them:
Avoiding Billing Errors and Including Special codes:
Errors are unavoidable when it comes to medical billing and coding. However, it is in the hands of the in-house team to follow stringent quality checks to provide error-free claims. The same is applicable to anesthesia billing. In addition, it requires extra care as the inclusion of certain codes might increase the payment. For instance, including anesthesia code for patients under the age of 1 year or older than 70 years will raise the reimbursement value. The same applies to the inclusion of special codes for anesthesia complicated by the utilization of total body hypothermia and controlled hypo tension. If you find it way too much complicated, then partner with an anesthesia billing company.
Time Matters:
When it comes to anesthesia medical billing, one of the crucial steps is to record the start and stop time of the service accurately. The claims are billed based on this time, so reporting and documenting it is highly essential. Rounding the time or billing for extra time can lead to errors. It is avoidable, so precision is key. An experienced anesthesia billing company will solve your problems if you wish to take off the billing burden off your shoulders and focus more on patient care.
Modifiers:
The billing staff must show utmost care while using modifiers as lots of errors occur in this area. There are three types of anesthetic procedures, namely General, MAC (Monitored Anesthesia Care), and Total Intravenous Anesthesia (TIVA). Each procedure has a different set of codes and modifiers. Therefore, use the right ones to avoid errors in anesthesia billing. Outsourcing to a reputed anesthesia billing company will be an ideal solution for error-free coding.
Documentation:
Performing error-free billing and coding is essential! At the same time, if the staff fail to do proper documentation to support the claims, then there is no point in billing them error-free in the first place. For instance, if a document shows that an anesthetist provided services in two places at the same time, then it’s a huge mistake. One more example is a CRNA being documented with overlapping case times. An experienced anesthesia medical billing company can do this documentation exceptionally well.
About MGSI:
If you are making these anesthesia billing errors and couldn’t find a solution, then it is time to outsource to a good medical billing company. MGSI is a one-stop-shop for all your billing needs. Right from normal medical billing to anesthesia billing, this competitive billing company offers cost-effective services to its clients. The Florida-based anesthesia billing company has more than 20 years of experience in the healthcare domain and possesses the latest technologies and software solutions. To learn more details, log on to www.mgsionline.com.